Healthy Chocolate Courgette Muffins

Name: Healthy Chocolate Courgette Muffins
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 200 g courgette; 1 dessert apple; 125 g wholemeal flour (or gluten free flour); 1.25 tsp baking powder; 25 g cocoa; 2 tbsp olive oil; 2 eggs; 3 tbsp honey or maple syrup; 1 tsp vanilla extract; pinch salt

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Healthy chocolate courgette muffins are moist, rich and delicious. They are made with wholemeal flour with no butter (dairy free!) and no refined sugar. These healthy chocolate muffins with courgette are naturally sweetened with apple and honey.

Chocolate courgette muffins on wire rack.

Why you'll love this recipe

A delicious healthy zucchini chocolate muffin that will leave you feeling satisfied
Made without butter, these healthy muffins are dairy free, with a gluten free option
Naturally sweetened sugar-free chocolate zucchini muffins are high in fibre to keep you feeling full
Courgettes add a lovely moist texture to these muffins, as well as extra nutrition. There's no taste of courgette, just a rich chocolatey flavour. No one will notice the hidden vegetables!
Healthy chocolate courgette muffins are ready in just 30 minutes

Other healthy chocolate muffins you might like include these gluten free chocolate muffins with coconut flour, and healthy sweet potato chocolate muffins with oat flour.

Ingredients

Courgette, apple, flour, cocoa, baking powder, eggs, olive oil, honey.

Courgettes (also known as zucchini). You'll need a relatively firm medium-sized courgette for these healthy chocolate courgette muffins so that it is not too watery.

(If your homegrown courgette glut has grown into marrows, try this marrow soup recipe or tasty marrow curry!)

Apple. Chocolate zucchini muffins with apple are naturally sweet and moist. Use a dessert apple.

Flour. I used plain wholemeal (wholewheat) flour to add healthy fibre to the recipe. You can also use gluten-free flour to make these into gluten-free chocolate courgette muffins.

Or use oat flour if you prefer. If you've only got self raising flour, you can use that too, but omit the baking powder.

Cocoa. Essential to give these courgette muffins the best rich deep chocolatey flavour. Use unsweetened cocoa powder.

Eggs add structure and rise to the muffins. They also add extra protein which helps to keep you feeling full.

Olive oil. These healthy chocolate muffins with courgettes are made with oil, but they are naturally quite moist and you'll only need a couple of tablespoons.

There's no butter in the recipe, which is dairy free.

Honey. Healthy chocolate courgette muffins are made without refined sugar and are naturally sweetened with fruit and honey. If you prefer, you can use maple syrup instead of honey.

If you want to use sugar rather than honey, add a couple of tablespoons of milk to the batter otherwise it will be too stiff.

Vanilla extract and a pinch of salt both enhance the chocolatey flavour.

Variations

For double chocolate courgette muffins, add 50g dark chocolate chunks or chips to the recipe. These healthy chocolate chip muffins are doubly irresistible!

Courgette chocolate muffins with nuts are also delicious, and the nuts add extra crunch. Add 50g of chopped nuts to the mix. Pecans and chocolate go very well:)

How to make healthy chocolate courgette muffins

Line a 6-hole muffin tray with paper liners. Even if your tray is non-stick, it'll be easier to remove the muffins from the tray.

This amount of mixture makes 6 large healthy chocolate muffins. If you prefer, you can make 8 or 9 smaller muffins or 18-20 mini snack muffins (ideal for toddlers and kids!).

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees (160 fan).

Slice the apple away from the core and trim the ends off the courgette.

Grate the apple and courgette. If you are making the muffins in a food processor you can use the processor to grate the fruit and veg, otherwise use a box grater.

Then place the grated apple and courgette in a sieve or colander. Place over the sink or a bowl, and squeeze down over the surface with a potato masher.

Do this a few times - the aim is to squeeze some of the liquid out so that the muffin batter is not too wet. If you prefer, you can also squeeze the liquid out in a cloth or kitchen paper.

Add the grated courgette and apple to a bowl or food processor. Add all of the remaining ingredients, and either blitz briefly or mix with a spoon until the mixture is an even colour. Don't over-mix the batter.

Healthy chocolate muffin mixture in food processor.

Spoon the mixture into the lined muffin tray.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes until risen and set. If you are making mini snack muffins, you'll only need to bake them for 15 minutes.

Chocolate zucchini muffins in baking tray.

Remove the muffins from the tray and cool on a wire rack.

Serving and storage

Enjoy these healthy chocolate courgette muffins as an easy snack at any time of the day. They are even healthy enough for breakfast!

They are also ideal for children's lunchboxes, although for younger children or toddlers, I'd make them a little smaller.

For a healthy dessert option with courgette, serve these muffins with healthy chocolate sauce, with some berries on the side.

Store courgette and chocolate muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

They are also freezer-friendly. Seal them in a bag or freezer-proof box and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.

Healthy courgette chocolate muffins in paper cases.

Frequently asked questions

What can I add to muffins to keep them moist?

Of course, butter and oil are a great way of keeping muffins moist. However, for a healthier option, hidden veggies such as courgettes or zucchini are a nutritious alternative to make delicious moist muffins. In addition, make sure that you don't overbake your muffins as that can dry them out.

Are courgette muffins healthy?

Courgettes are a healthy vegetable, high in vitamins, minerals and fibre, and low in calories. However, courgette muffins aren't always a healthy option as they can be very high in sugar and fat. These healthy courgette muffins have less than 200 calories for a large and satisfying muffin and are low in refined sugar and saturated fat.

Are chocolate courgette muffins vegan?

No, this recipe isn't vegan, although it is dairy free. You can replace the honey with maple syrup, and you'd also need to use an egg replacer such as flax seed. If you do try the recipe with flax seed eggs, please let us know how it goes in the comments section.

Other healthy courgette recipes you might like

You might also like this courgette and apple loaf cake. Again, there's no flavour of courgette but it adds a lovely moist texture.

Or as a change from a sweet courgette muffin, why not try these cheese and courgette savoury muffins? They are an ideal accompaniment to a bowl of soup.

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